FR: La participation des athlètes trans aux Jeux olympiques est un sujet qui peut paraître récent dans le paysage social et médiatique. À rebours de cette conception, cet article propose de retracer l’histoire effacée d’un siècle de... more
FR:
La participation des athlètes trans aux Jeux olympiques est un sujet qui peut paraître récent dans le paysage social et médiatique. À rebours de cette conception, cet article propose de retracer l’histoire effacée d’un siècle de présence trans aux JO. L’analyse repose sur un corpus de 231 articles issus de la presse française généraliste, sportive et LGBTI, publiés entre 1935 et 2022. Les résultats témoignent de la présence d’une panique de genre, périodisée en quatre temporalités charnières : 1. prémices de la panique de genre (1935-2002) ; 2. expansion de l’argumentaire essentialiste (2003-2015) ; 3. différenciation genrée de la panique de genre contemporaine (2015-2020) ; 4. explosion médiatique depuis les Jeux de Tokyo (2021-2022). Cette recherche contribue ainsi à saisir le rôle du cissexisme dans le maintien de l’ordre genré au sein de l’Olympisme.
ENG:
Trans athletes’ participation in the Olympic Games may seem recent in the media and social landscape. Contrary to this view, this article proposes to delve into the erased history of a century of trans presence at the Olympics. Our analysis rests on a corpus of 231 articles from the French mainstream, sports and LGBTI press, published between 1935 and 2022. The results demonstrate the presence of a gender panic, periodized in four key periods: 1) the beginnings of a gender panic (1935-2002), 2) amplification of an essentialist perspective (2003-2015), 3) gendered differentiation of the contemporary gender panic (2015-2020), 4) media explosion since the Tokyo Games (2021-2022). This research thus contributes to understanding the role of cissexism in maintaining the gendered order within Olympism.
La participation des athlètes trans aux Jeux olympiques est un sujet qui peut paraître récent dans le paysage social et médiatique. À rebours de cette conception, cet article propose de retracer l’histoire effacée d’un siècle de présence trans aux JO. L’analyse repose sur un corpus de 231 articles issus de la presse française généraliste, sportive et LGBTI, publiés entre 1935 et 2022. Les résultats témoignent de la présence d’une panique de genre, périodisée en quatre temporalités charnières : 1. prémices de la panique de genre (1935-2002) ; 2. expansion de l’argumentaire essentialiste (2003-2015) ; 3. différenciation genrée de la panique de genre contemporaine (2015-2020) ; 4. explosion médiatique depuis les Jeux de Tokyo (2021-2022). Cette recherche contribue ainsi à saisir le rôle du cissexisme dans le maintien de l’ordre genré au sein de l’Olympisme.
ENG:
Trans athletes’ participation in the Olympic Games may seem recent in the media and social landscape. Contrary to this view, this article proposes to delve into the erased history of a century of trans presence at the Olympics. Our analysis rests on a corpus of 231 articles from the French mainstream, sports and LGBTI press, published between 1935 and 2022. The results demonstrate the presence of a gender panic, periodized in four key periods: 1) the beginnings of a gender panic (1935-2002), 2) amplification of an essentialist perspective (2003-2015), 3) gendered differentiation of the contemporary gender panic (2015-2020), 4) media explosion since the Tokyo Games (2021-2022). This research thus contributes to understanding the role of cissexism in maintaining the gendered order within Olympism.
Research Interests:
The inclusion of transgender people in sport is relatively new and has proven to be complex. The impacts of inclusion policies, or lack thereof, are significant and reach far beyond sport to affect how trans people are included in other... more
The inclusion of transgender people in sport is relatively new and has proven to be complex. The impacts of inclusion policies, or lack thereof, are significant and reach far beyond sport to affect how trans people are included in other areas of society. Sport can have a positive impact on the physical and mental health of transgender people and can contribute to lifesaving opportunities and enhanced wellness.
In 2021, the CCES commissioned E-Alliance to complete a review of scientific and grey literature on transgender athlete participation in competitive sport. Transgender Women Athletes and Elite Sport is a review of research articles published in the English language between 2011 and 2021 inclusive. The report is divided into two sections, one that encompasses biomedical studies and a second that encompasses sociocultural studies.
The report’s authors recommend that all reasonable efforts should be made to make sport inclusive and accessible for transgender individuals. However, the scope of this review was limited to binary trans women who are elite athletes and was not sport specific. As a result, the conclusions are not directly applicable to other trans or non-binary populations and other levels of sport.
This literature review is one component of a larger scope of work that aims to support leaders and policy makers and provide access to critical research insights.
In 2021, the CCES commissioned E-Alliance to complete a review of scientific and grey literature on transgender athlete participation in competitive sport. Transgender Women Athletes and Elite Sport is a review of research articles published in the English language between 2011 and 2021 inclusive. The report is divided into two sections, one that encompasses biomedical studies and a second that encompasses sociocultural studies.
The report’s authors recommend that all reasonable efforts should be made to make sport inclusive and accessible for transgender individuals. However, the scope of this review was limited to binary trans women who are elite athletes and was not sport specific. As a result, the conclusions are not directly applicable to other trans or non-binary populations and other levels of sport.
This literature review is one component of a larger scope of work that aims to support leaders and policy makers and provide access to critical research insights.